AURORA | While two city teams — top seeds Regis Jesuit and Grandview — get to sit back and watch, six Aurora teams play in the first round round of the Class 5A girls state basketball playoffs Tuesday.
Two of those six, sixth-seeded Cherokee Trail and eighth-seeded Rangeview, play on their home courts against visiting lower seeds, while No. 10 Gateway, Nos. 11 Overland and Smoky Hill and No. 12 Eaglecrest travel.
Vista PEAK, Aurora’s lone 4A team, received a No. 11 seed and also plays on the road Tuesday in first-round action.
The following is a quick look at each of the seven first-round contests involving Aurora teams:
5A: NO. 11 MONTBELLO (12-11) AT NO. 6 CHEROKEE TRAIL (10-13), 7 p.m.
Coach Todd Dixon’s Cherokee Trail team finished the season with four losses in its last five games, but finished with a remarkably high seed given its sub-.500 record. The Cougars clearly benefited from playing in the Centennial League, which had all eight of its teams make the postseason (7 in 5A, Mullen in 4A) and had two of the four No. 1 seeds in Grandview and Cherry Creek. Cherokee Trail’s best game in the last two week of the season was a four-point loss to Cherry Creek on Feb. 12, a month after it lost to the Bruins by 16 points. The Cougars have lost in the first round of the playoffs in each of the last three seasons, so the senior class is looking for its first postseason victory. Senior guard Hannah Sparks leads Cherokee Trail in almost every offensive statistical category (15.4 points, 2.3 assists per game), while senior Lily Hartley is the team’s top rebounder at 6.4 per game. A slew of sophomores play good minutes for Dixon, with Anastacia Johnson leading the team in steals (2.3 per game) and is second in assists (1.7 per game). Montbello, which comes into the game with seven wins in its last 10 games, features three players averaging in double-figures in Tammarah Gothard (14.5 ppg), Samoun Moore (14.4 ppg) — a former Aurora Central player — and Donavon Ellington Wright (12.1 ppg). The Cherokee Trail-Montbello winner plays at No. 4 Highlands Ranch (19-4) on Friday.
5A: NO. 9 PALMER (8-15) AT NO. 8 RANGEVIEW (15-8), 7 p.m.
Coach Chris Dolan’s team finished in a tie for first place in the East Metro Athletic Conference with Brighton, but lost the head-to-head tiebreaker with the Bulldogs, which dropped the Raiders into the second seed out of the league for the playoffs. Rangeview missed the playoffs altogether last season, but 15 wins netted it a first-round playoff games this season. Dolan keeps the Raiders’ rotation fairly tight, but has a couple of linchpins on the offensive end in senior forward Carra Jackson-Brown (15.7 ppg) and sophomore post player Jaleesa Avery (15.4 ppg), while senior Ajanee Robinson is a terror to opposing ballhandlers on the defensive end and averages 9.2 steals per contest. Palmer comes into the postseason with six losses in its last 10 games, but the Terrors did win their regular season finale against Fountain-Fort Carson, a non-playoff qualifier. Jenn Urbaniak is Palmer’s key figure, as she leads the team in scoring (16.9 ppg), rebounds (11.6 rbp) and steals (3.5 spg). The Rangeview-Palmer winner travels to face No. 1 Fossil Ridge (22-1) in the second round on Friday.
5A: NO. 10 GATEWAY (12-11) AT NO. 7 GEORGE WASHINGTON (18-5), 7 p.m.
Coach Tammi Traylor-Statewright’s Gateway team appears to be peaking ahead of the postseason, as the Olys have won eight of their last 10 games and might have made it nine of 10, but suffered a one-point loss at rival Rangeview on Feb. 7. The play of sophomore Carmen Ramey has provided Gateway a boost, especially on the offensive end, as she’s averaged 12 points per game in just 10 contests. In that short span, Ramey also has produced as many steals (59) as seniors Allurah Taylor and Kyah Scott, who have each played twice as many games. Taylor (7.7 ppg) and senior Precious Luster (7.4 ppg) also provide some scoring punch for Gateway. George Washington is also on a roll with 12 wins in its past 13 games, with the only losses coming to Denver East (19-4), which got a No. 4 seed. Jada Bonner (14.1 ppg), Tyla Wilder (12.8 ppg) and Sophie Nick (10.7 ppg) form a formidable trio for the Patriots. The winner moves into the second round and plays at No. 2 Rampart (18-5) on Feb. 28.
5A: NO. 11 OVERLAND (8-15) AT NO. 6 FORT COLLINS (10-13), 6 p.m.
Coach Wayne McDonald returned to the Overland bench after a season absence and his team returned to the postseason with one more victory than a year ago. The Trailblazers have been competitive in most games down the stretch in the Centennial League, but have just two wins over that span to show for it. Fourth-year varsity player Michaela Hinton has been a cornerstone, as she’s averaged a team-high 12.9 points per game in addition to contributing a little bit across the board in a variety of categories. Junior Lamija Spahic averaged 10 points per game in the regular season and senior guard Zelle Moore 8.3 to compliment Hinton, while sophomore Frannie Reed has pulled down 11.2 rebounds per contest to lead the team. Fort Collins comes into the postseason with five losses in its last seven games and dropped its last three. Other than Payton Humpal (11.3 ppg), the Lambkins win with contributions from a variety of sources, as five other players averaged four points or better. The winner plays at No. 3 Mountain Vista (19-4) in the second round Feb. 28.
5A: NO. 11 SMOKY HILL (5-18) AT NO. 6 DAKOTA RIDGE (16-7), 7 p.m.
Coach DeWayne Brandon’s Smoky Hill team enters the 5A playoffs looking for a first-round victory like recorded last season, though the Buffs won’t have home court advantage this time around. Smoky Hill also has to halt an eight-game losing streak and slide that’s seen it drop 10 of the last 11. Injuries and illnesses have taken their toll on the Buffs at times during the season and they got just eight games from senior Sarah Milafsky — last season’s leading scorer — before she had to have foot surgery. Only two players, seniors Brooke Zimmerman and Taylor Ruby have appeared in all 23 of Smoky Hill’s games, with Zimmerman doing a lot of the heavy lifting with team-best averages of 10.8 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. Ruby has knocked down a team-high 26 3-pointers and averages a handful of points per contest. Dakota Ridge is 6-4 in its final 10 games, suffering a pair of losses each to No. 2 seed Lakewood and No. 5 seed Ralston Valley in Jeffco League play. The Eagles feature a trio of double-digit scorers in Jae Ferrin (15.3 ppg), Lauren Wood (14.7 ppg) and Caitlin Navratil (10.0 ppg), who also lead the team in a variety of other statistical categories. The winner earned a visit to No. 3 Pine Creek (21-2) for a second round contest Feb. 28.
5A: NO. 12 EAGLECREST (5-18) AT NO. 5 RALSTON VALLEY (5-18)
Coach Alex Moore’s Raptors returned to the postseason despite a 2-8 mark in the last 10 games. Eaglecrest missed the postseason last year despite winning one more game, but relishes the chance for another game given its roster features an abundance of youth. Steady senior Jamie Stoner checks in at 10 points per game, getting many by way of the 3-pointer, as she accounts for 40 of the team’s 64 made 3-pointers for the season. Senior Jazmin Classen (6.0 ppg) and sophomore Aubreanna Johnson (4.7 points, 4.6 rebounds) contribute significantly as well for Eaglecrest. Ralston Valley has won eight of its last 10 games, with the only losses coming to a pair of No. 2 seeds in the 5A tournament, Lakewood and Poudre. Eight Mustangs average four points or more per game, while only freshman Ashley VanSickle (11.8 ppg) and Amanda Lefholz (10.6 ppg) crack double figures. The winner plays at No. 4 Brighton (17-6) in a second round game Feb. 28.
4A: NO. 11 VISTA PEAK (12-11) AT NO. 6 PUEBLO COUNTY (14-9), 7 p.m.
Coach Matt Borushko sees his Vista PEAK team in the 4A playoff bracket for the second consecutive season, but in much better shape this time, with a record over .500 this time (as opposed to 3-21 last season). The Bison still have periods of inconsistency that have cost them a few wins in tight ballgames, but have improved as a unit this season without a single senior on the roster. Freshman Rayne Mack has shown plenty of scoring ability as her 12.9 points per game average attests, while sophomore Jaylynn Johnson is versatile and has some of Vista PEAK’s limited size, using her 5-foot-10 frame to average 7 points and a team-best 6.7 rebounds per game. Pueblo County comes in 5-5 in its last 10 games. Jaylene Ayala averages 11.5 points per game and Lindsay Sandavol chips in 11.2 per contest for the Hornets. The winner plays No. 3 Silver Creek (18-5) in a second round game at 2 p.m. Feb. 28 at Valor Christian High School.
Courtney Oakes is Sports Editor of the Aurora Sentinel. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. Facebook: Aurora Prep Sentinel
